Syracuse University student faces felonies in debit-card theft

Syracuse, NY – A Syracuse University student was charged Saturday with felony forgery and criminal possession of stolen property and misdemeanor identity theft following a Syracuse Police investigation into the theft of another student’s debit card.

According to a police report, Rafael Rodriguez-Vargas, 19, of 775 Comstock Ave. #326, allegedly used the card to buy $146.75 worth of items from Grabys, a convenience store at 748 Wescott St., on April 24. A store surveillance tape showed Rodriquez-Vargas using the victim’s card to make two purchases, police said.

The victim, Anna Ring, 19, a student from Williston, Vt., told police her handbag had gone missing on April 24 from the Theta Chi fraternity house, 711 Comstock Ave. and when it was returned to her later in the day her debit card and driver’s license were gone. The man she knew from the fraternity who returned the bag, known to her as “Junior,” was actually Rodriguez-Vargas, police said.

She learned the following day from her bank that the card had been used to make $400 worth of purchases, including those from Grabys, the victim told police.

Rodriquez-Vargas told police he threw away the card after using it at Grabys, police said.